Steelers’ Mike Mitchell fined $48k for hit that left Charcandrick West in concussion protocol

The league came down hard on Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell for a second quarter hit that left Charcandrick West with a concussion. Mitchell will be fined $48,620, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The helmet-to-helmet hit was egregious. West is in the concussion protocol and was sidelined for Thursday night’s loss to the Oakland Raiders.

The most flagrant dirty hit of Week 6, though, was Mitchell taking an unnecessary shot at the knees of Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. Mitchell was just fined $9,115 for that one.

Smith unloaded the ball to running back Kareem Hunt, and there was absolutely no reason for Mitchell to hit him. Mitchell did anyway, going low and hitting the quarterback with a cheap shot in the knees:

After the game, Smith called the hit he took from Mitchell “about as flagrant as it gets.

“I felt like it was extremely late,” Smith said. “I felt like there was nothing done there to avoid contact. It was really low from the back side. I thought it was about as flagrant as it gets when it comes to a low hit on the quarterback. I don’t think this is a first offense either. You know, when you start looking at that stuff, when you get repeat offenders, I think when they get shots at quarterbacks they’re going to take them.”

It’s not the first time for Mitchell. He’s been fined twice in his career for similar transgressions. Both came during the 2015 season. He had to pony up $8,681 for unnecessary roughness against Antonio Gates and $23,152 for a hit on a defenseless receiver, Tyler Eifert. He wasn’t fined for it, but an attempt to launch over the Jets offensive line to hit Michael Vick back in 2014 earned him the ire of Rex Ryan and Nick Mangold.

Mitchell insists he’s not a dirty player, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“The video shows what it shows. I wasn’t trying to take Alex Smith’s knees out,” Mitchell said. “I went up to him and told him that ... It’s just one of those things you don’t want to see in the football game.”

Mike Tomlin offered up an excuse for his free safety.

“But if you saw the play, you know there was no intent or egregiousness there on his part,” Tomlin said, via Joe Rutter of the Tribune-Review. “He got tripped, but Alex doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head and, in-game, he doesn’t know that, so it’s reasonable to have the response that he had.”

It seems like the league doesn’t care about excuses. That’s a hefty fine for Mitchell. With a hit that egregious and his history, he’s lucky he wasn’t suspended.